Rick Huckaby, or “Huck” as he is referred to, is a Nashville, TN singer, songwriter, and guitar player. His sound is like none other heard in country music today combining influences as rare as Robert Cray, Bonnie Raitt, Merle Haggard, Ronnie Milsap, and Keith Whitley. His lyrical honesty and vocal integrity is something of a rarity these days and his ability to incorporate such a wide variety of musical genres inspires those who take the time to listen.
Huck was born in Baton Rouge, LA as the son of the legendary basketball coach, Rick Huckabay Sr, (Rick took the “a” out at the end of his last name as not to confuse the pronunciation). In 1983, Coach Huckabay left his position as the assistant men’s basketball coach at LSU and moved his wife and two children (Rick and his brother Andy) to Huntington, WV to take the head-coaching job of the men’s basketball team at Marshall University. It was here where Huck’s musical journey would begin.
Rick started out as a drummer and began playing in bands when he was a freshman in high school. One night at a local talent show, the lead singer got cold feet and “no showed” on the gig, ironically introducing Rick's voice to the world for the first time.
After high school, Rick fronted several bands but his group “Front Page” was the most successful and on the strength of Rick’s original compositions, the band won the Jimmy Dean True Value Hardware Store Regional talent competition. After this achievement, Rick knew he needed to be in Nashville so he loaded up and moved there in 1996. After 2 years of working construction for an asphalt company, Rick landed a dream gig as the acoustic guitar player for country music superstar, Tracy Lawrence.
Rick was in Tracy’s band for 5 years and wrote 10 songs that were recorded on various Tracy Lawrence albums during that time. In 2002, Paul Worley signed Rick to a record deal with Warner Brothers and after 4 years in the “artist protection program”, Rick cut ties with the major label.
In 2007, Rick and his brother Andy formed the independent record label and publishing company, HeadCoach Music, in honor of their father who passed away from cancer in 2006. Rick was finally able to get an album to his fans entitled “Call Me Huck” which received significant critical acclaim.
While touring and promoting his music to radio, Rick also wrote the top 20 single released by Trace Adkins in 2008, “Muddy Water”. Rick continues to write songs for other artists and can be seen regularly with his band in Nashville and across the United States. His brand new album, “Hittin’ My Stride”, is the culmination of his musical identity and diverse influences and captures the true spirit of his sound.
